Remains found in Vietnam are Lenexa Marine's

WASHINGTON | The Pentagon says remains found in South Vietnam have been identified as those of a Lenexa Marine and three others whose helicopter was shot down in 1968.

The Defense Department said Wednesday that Lance Cpl. Kurt La Plant of Lenexa, Kan., was aboard a CH-46A helicopter that was downed by enemy ground fire on June 6, 1968. The Defense Department Web site said 12 of the 23 on board were killed.

A joint U.S. and Vietnamese team investigated from 1993 to 2005, interviewing witnesses and surveying the crash site. La Plant's identification tags were found there in 2006.

DNA tests and dental samples identified La Plant and Lance Cpl. Luis F. Palacios of Los Angeles. Remains that could not be individually identified are included in a group that will be buried in the spring in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.

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